J Korean Soc Biol Ther Psychiatry.  2021 Jun;27(2):97-111.

The Effect of Hormonal Changes During the Menstrual Cycle on the Brain: Focusing on Structural and Functional Neuroimaging Studies

• Ha E
• Song Y
• Kim J
• Yoon S

Abstract

It is well known that sex hormones are potential modulators of brain functions and women experience dynamic hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. Previous animal studies have reported that the variations in sex hormones over the menstrual cycle may affect cognitive function, emotion, and behavior by altering structures and functional connectivity of the brain. Considering the prevalence of certain neuropsychiatric disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders is relatively high in women, as compared with men, fluctuations of sex hormones over the menstrual cycle may influence the human brain and potentially underlie sex differences in clinical features of several neuropsychiatric disorders. There is, however, little evidence regarding the exact mechanisms underlying the effects of sex hormones on the human brain. In this review, we focused on studies to examine structural and functional changes over the menstrual cycles in women and aimed to provide an up-to-date overview of neuroimaging studies regarding the effects of sex hormonal fluctuations on the brain and behaviors.

Keyword

Menstrual cycle; Magnetic resonance imaging; Gonadal steroid hormones; Neuroimaging